Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1887-03-17
why the south 1. Poor.

| Into mothers loving arms.
why the south fs Poor.
The Greeneville, s. c., Ners contained
the following significant editorial some
time since:::
"The two sections began life together
and formed Government. The South
had the advantage of soil, climate and
wealth. At the end of eighty four years
they grappled and fought. The Yankee
section came to the fight richer and
stronger than our Southern section, and
beat us into the earth while we did our
best. To-day these Yankees are rich in
everything, and we are poor in everything
but manhood and womanhood, and have
less than we began with one hundred
years back. These same Yankees fur.
nish the bulk of the capital we use, the
food we eat, the clothes we wear, the
books we read and study, and the high
grade teaching in the normal schools of
the Southern States.
Almost every convenience of life and
invention of art or science we know
comes from these same people, who have
in ten years done more with Florida than
the Florida natives have in fifty. Almost
any one OF their large communities could
buy the whole South for park If they
liked 1t for that purpose. In fight they
could crush us like egg shells. In poll
tics they nre our masters, and we have to
hold our breath in every big campaign
to avoid offending them. Their per cent.
age of ignorance is one.tenth of ours.
When trouble comes on us we depend
on them tor most of the help and get it.
1.-The world knows them as America
and us as outlying and unconsidered
provinces. They are producing the rep
resentative poets, painters and authors
OF the country, while we trail along with
our eyes fixed on them, hardly daring to
hope that we may become as strong, and
rich and enlightened as they are by years
Of hard work.
THE majority understand that while
we were making statesmen and warriors,
and ruling politicians. the Yankees were
making territory, building manufactures
and developing countless army Of train. |
ed minds and hands, strengthening and
enligthening their masses, and max.
ing them an exhaustless reservoir Of |
intellect and physical power. and that, if |
we are to share the Yankee wealth,
strength and place in the world we must
usesome (not aID Yankee ideas and aban. |
don some mot ally OF our own
And why is the South not farther ad.
vanced to-day than the North? Judge
Kelly told the whole story in nutshell,
in a speech delivered in Chattanooga
Some time since. The South has al |
ways been In favor Of free trade. She
has not fostered and encouraged homo
industries She has raised cotton--the |
raw material-and shipped II to the |
North, and to England, to be manufao- |
tured into cloth. She is to-day receiving |
about eight cents per pound for her cot.
ton, and, before the winter Is over, will |!
pay anywhere from sixteen cents to forty |
cents per pound to get 1t back in the !
shape of cloth. la
The same may be said Of our iron re.
sources. We Of the South are simply
feeders of the North. The great trunk
line of the commercial railroad runs
through New England New York, Penn
sylvania and few of the Western States.
We of the South are simply branch-a
feeder to that great commercial artery,
We are doing the dirty work today
digging the ores out of hills, the coal out |
of the mountains, and blasting the lime
stone and making pig metal The sharp,
shrewd manufacturer of the North buy |
our pig metal, and with the use of i'm
proved machinery, and with but little |
labor, convert II into finished iron and |
make twice as much money out of It as
we do. rOt
We do not pay our labor near as much |
here In the South as Northern manufac-
turers pay their men; and yet Northern
mill owner can make a much better
profit out of our pig metal than our own |
furnace men can get out Of II.
What we need In this Southern coun- |
try Is q steady growth Of protection |
sentiment. Manufactures locate among |
their friends. The strongest protective |
tariff men In tho world live In New Eng
land, and that country is full of manu-
factories. One OF the reasons why Chat
tanooga is growing 80 rapidly is because.
o protective sentiment has grown up |
here.
Judge Kelly hit the nail on the head |
when he said we had practically free
trade from 1847 to 1857 During that |
period the Democratic doctrine of a.
tariff for revenue only was put into |
practical effect. What was the result ? |
England made nearly all of the fabrics
worn by America. This country wa'
simply feeder to England-se nns.,ber
'aw material TO that country &c lie mam. !
Facturcd into cloth. and Il tooS all eur
gold to get the manufactured goods back.
Even the products Of the gold minos of |,
California all went to England. We sent
her over billion OF dollars in gold in |
.en years time. What had we to show |
Tor such follyY 4
But few people understand this tariff |
Tor revenue" system. What does 1t |
meany Democracy says, cut down the |
tariff to the actual necessities Of the Coy
,rnment Where will that cutting stopy |
The lower the tariff, the greater the i'm
ports, and It simply means one OF two
'hings-that they must be made so low
hat American mills must close and let
England furnish all our manufactured
articles else our labor must be placed
lpon q par with the paupcr labor Of; |
Europe.
Good business judgment would saw
hat II the revenues OF the Government
IRE now too great, raise the tariff, stop.
he imports and thus protect our own
,cople. The trouble with the Demo-
ratio party Is they are riding the horse.